Fifa Club World Cup draw: Al Ittihad and Manchester City can only meet in final

Al Ittihad will have to wait until the final of the Fifa Club World Cup if they are to meet Manchester City in Saudi Arabia later this year, after the draw was made in Jeddah on Tuesday.

The Saudi Pro League champions, making their second appearance in the tournament and first since 2005, open the December 12-22 event in the kingdom's second city with a play-off against New Zealand’s Auckland City.

Should they advance, Ittihad will meet in the second round Egyptian giants Al Ahly, the reigning African champions, with the winner then facing the 2023 Copa Libertadores champions in the semi-final.

The tournament’s South American representative - the Copa Libertadores is currently at its semi-final stage - will not be decided until November 4. Brazilian trio Palmeiras, Fluminense and Internacional, and Argentina’s Boca Juniors, make up the last four.

City possibly await in the Club World Cup showpiece on December 22, although the current Premier League and Uefa Champions League holders would first have to get past either Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan or Mexico’s Club Leon, recent winners of the Concacaf Champions League.

City, treble winners last season, enter at the semi-final stage in Jeddah, when they will debut in the tournament. Manager Pep Guardiola is seeking to become the first coach to win the trophy four times having previously guided Barcelona and Bayern Munich to the title.

Speaking on the sidelines of Tuesday’s draw, Fifa president Gianni Infantino told Saudi broadcaster SSC: “We just had a great draw in what will be the best Fifa Club World Cup ever. The best because the organisation will be fantastic, because the teams are great, we will see some exciting games, some debutants like, believe it or